Category: Reviews

NA Romance, Reviews

Book Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

My Initial Thoughts:

Please don’t be very repetitive and sucky… PLEASE!

Review:

Wow… I was blown away by Losing Hope. I was really hoping I would get an amazing book that could stand by itself and not feel like I was reading Hopeless all over again and… I got what I wanted! Huzzah!

Seriously, I don’t know what the heck Colleen Hoover is doing, but that woman has got this whole writing thing down to science. It’s amazing. Losing Hope gave more life to Sky’s story. We were able to see fill in a lot of the holes that were left by the last book. The last book was great, but this is truly a companion novel. We also get Holder in the past, in the present, and even future. It’s amazing.

Holder’s story is also a heartbreaking one. We finally get to see the impact Sky’s disappearance had on him since he was a boy and the change his sister’s death had on him. I can finally understand his anger, his actions, and his stalker-like ways. Once you see it though his eyes, you’re like wait that isn’t stalkerish at all. Wow. This totally puts things into perspective… and it definitely did. If you weren’t completely sold on Holder, you will be after reading Losing Hope.

Holder’s story stands on its own and I am glad I read it. After reading three books by Colleen Hoover, I am sold! I will buy any of her books from now on. I’ve added another name to my auto-buy author list.

Rating: 5/5

Reviews, ya contemporary

Book Review: Breathe Annie Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

My Initial Thoughts:

I absolutely knew I was going to love it.

Review:

oh man, Oh man, Oh Man, did I absolutely love this book! It was everything I needed, wanted, and more! I think I will be using a lot of exclamation points the entire review!!!!

Let’s just start of by addressing the painful stuff first. Annie’s story about Kyle’s death and how it all went down was so sad…I was nearly in tears. I could imagine the guilt she felt. She was going to marry that guy. I seriously don’t know how she wasn’t a bigger mess. I think Kenneally did a wonderful job at explaining the importance of the marathon and Kyle to us, the readers, so that we could get it and understand why the marathon is so important to Annie.

Oh Jere. I remember you in Things I Can’t Forget and oh man I’m glad you’ve changed. What I really liked about Jeremiah is how honest he was with Annie. Jeremiah is exactly what Annie needed, and Annie is exactly what Jeremiah needed. Even though Annie was getting over someone who died, which I think is probably harder than getting over someone who is alive, she is able to stand on her own two feet and call out Jere out in his crap. I also love that Jere was there for Annie and waited for her to be ready. A man who can respect a woman. I like that. We need more men to be like that.

Breathe Annie Breathe didn’t just focus on Annie, but also addressed Jeremiah’s issue. I am a person that at times does somewhat risky things to get over a fear and likes to feel that rush of adrenaline that makes you feel like you’ve conquered the fear. I get why Jeremiah searched for that surge of adrenaline and how that road that led him to turning into an adrenaline junkie. He had to make some hard decisions throughout the entire book to change. The best part of each of the main characters were their interactions and how each could see through the other’s facade and actually address the issues and situations. Neither chickened out on each other.

The only reason I am giving this 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that the few pages before the ending were a little… weird for me and I felt like the story abruptly stopped. That ending was so not an ending.

Some of you might remember I had a few issues with Kenneally’s second book Stealing Parker for bad representation of certain groups of people, but I will say that I’ve loved every other books she’s written. So far I own all 5 Hundred Oaks books and hopefully I will keep owning more in the future.

I’m not done with the Hundred Oaks world yet Kenneally, and I hope you aren’t either.

Rating: 4.5/5

Reviews, ya contemporary

Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new

My Initial Thoughts:

YOU ARE FINALLY IN MY HANDS. MUAHAHAHA. (If you were looking for something insightful, you’re not going to find it in this section.)

Review:

I just finished reading Isla a few hours ago and oh my is my mind still reeling. I can’t fathom coherent thoughts my friends, but I will surely try.

Stephanie Perkins has written another terrific novel, and I think it has surpassed her other novels, but at the same time it’s on the same level of perfection. That doesn’t make any sense does it? That’s something you’re going to have to make peace with. 🙂

I don’t normally read the acknowledgments page, but I’m glad I read this one. It literally left me with so many emotions. Stephanie Perkins is so honest and vulnerable in her acknowledgement, I almost cried and we all know I don’t really cry. And I think knowing she went through some tough times while writing this book just makes it that much more special to me. We have the finished product and that only means she pushed through those tough times in her life and conquered them. I am so happy for her.

Alright, let’s about the book.

Isla and Josh are by far my favorite couple (Don’t tell Anna/St.Clair and Lola/Cricket I said that!). There was just something so heartbreaking beautiful about them, their stories, and their struggles that I just have a soft spot for them. Like all fans of this world we can only hope Stephanie will continue to write more books about them (Can I get an AMEN for sequels!?!!), but I will say that this third book does give me some enough satisfaction as a finale. I know where my favorite characters are at in their lives and where some of my new favorites will be.

I don’t wish to spoil this for you, but I do want to say that their story is somehow much more grand then the other two. Maybe because I can identify with both Josh and Isla. Maybe because I know exactly what Isla feels when she says she feels like a blank canvas. All I know is that this book came into my life at the best time it could, and it has earned its place in my Top Favorite Books of All Time list.

Here is a word of advice: Read it!

Rating: 6 out of freaking 5

NA Romance, Reviews, ya romance

Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.

My Initial Thoughts:

If I am completely honest, I didn’t want to read DYT because of Beth. She broke Isaiah’s heart and I couldn’t forgive her for that. Kayla kept telling me, Come on you’re gonna love it, and I refused until I finally caved on my own.

Review:

Why didn’t I read this sooner?! Honestly I’m kind of mad at myself it took me this long to kinda get over what Beth did to Isaiah so that I could finally read it. I’m glad that it finally happened though.

Date You To is Beth’s story right after Pushing The Limits. We saw Beth in PTL, and DYT is her and Ryan’s story.

Since I just mentioned Ryan can I just say I need a Ryan in my life. He is perfect. For me at least. He is a writer to begin with. I’m a sucker for those, and musicians too… and mechanic dudes like Isaiah. OMG, okay, a lot of guys are my type. Haha.

Anyways, Beth’s story surprised me so much. I did not expect her story to go like this. I personally think it sheds a light on her, and her very “tough” attitude. As a reader, we finally get a in-depth view of the circumstances in her life that made her hard and bitter. The beginning made me cringe a lot because of the effort Beth’s uncle was making to try to make her life better, yet he couldn’t really do much. The entire book is about her journey and how both her uncle and Ryan little by little start chipping away those walls she has built around her heart. Towards the end of the story, her walls hadn’t all collapsed, but she we can clearly see she is on the road to recovery (by that I mean her heart and mental state), and for those who have read Crash Into You, we know she is doing a lot better a few months down the road after DYT.

Ryan’s story made me cry a little. Okay, my eyes just got a little misty. The home he lives in is horrible. Can you imagine living in that type of hostile environment and having to be exactly what your parents want you to be 100% of the time? It made me upset that his father wouldn’t support his writing career. If your kid is good at something, I say support him in that. Don’t make him something he isn’t. Okay, I’m getting off my soapbox now.

I think the most important thing I learned from Beth’s story is the importance of realizing that our loved ones are not always how we picture them. We can’t make excuses for their bad choices. Beth’s mom didn’t learn her lesson and wasn’t going to either. Beth couldn’t see the damage and danger her mother is to herself and to Beth. When she realized that at the end, I finally exhaled in relief. Her mother needs helps, just not Beth’s help. If Beth wants her life to change, she needs someone else to take care of her mother.

Overall, I thought it was a great book, and I’m glad I read it.

(Reviewer note: Sorry Guys! I meant to post this review up like 3 weeks ago, but the job training I’m going through in Utah is intense and doesn’t leave me time to read or even write reviews, but I made time today! The blog will be back to regular schedule the month of August!)

Rating: 5/5

 

NA Romance, Reviews

Book Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Review:

Ummmmmm. I do not have words. At all. I am speechless. Absolutely speechless.

Okay, first of all, the first chapter is totally misleading! It had me believing Holder was bad when he is an absolutely, adorable, endearing book boyfriend. I just declared him one of my top book boyfriends. Yes, yes, I know. My list is very long at this point, but I don’t care. I don’t.

It’s been a day since I read it and I cannot find fault within it. Okay maybe the cover is misleading and not the best choice when trying to promote it (and Kayla will probably never read this even though I want her too because she is such a book cover snob. I love you too), but it’s that good.

I have this habit where I get impatient and ruin books for myself (I spoil myself), but I didn’t want to do it with this book so I went into it blindly. Hopeless looks like a NA book, but it’s not. There are no explicit sex scenes. None. Zilch. Nada.

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One of the reasons I love Hopeless so much is that we have a very real character that I can actually see myself befriending in real life.

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That’s basically Sky. We could really be best friends. I can be Five for all I care since six and seven are taken. (You won’t get this if you haven’t read the book. Yes I’m basically forcing you too). One more thing about Sky. That girl can kick some butt! She says what she thinks, she’s brave, and strong, and doesn’t put up with anyone’s bullcrap. I’m so happy I’m seeing strong female characters in books because we need more of them. Lots of them.

I also liked that we were able to see the relationship play out over a period of several months. There isn’t really any insta-love… It’s….Insta-lust!? Even Sky is like WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME! I just loved that the author made Sky like that because it just made things ten times funnier. I feel like Ms. Hoover was totally making fun of insta love. It was great.

This book hits every spot. The recipe for this book is as follows: heart wrenching feels + happy feels + comedy + fangirl moments + a strong kickass female protagonist + a hot strong male character = Hopeless.

Rating: 5/5

Reviews, ya contemporary

Book Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Veronica Porras (TTB)

WhereSheWent

Goodreads Summary:

It’s been three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life.

And three years he’s spent wondering why.

When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good – or can you really have a second chance at first love?

My Initial Thoughts:

My thoughts you say… well they weren’t pretty. Not because I thought I was going to dislike it, but because I knew it was going to tear my heart apart. I heard Where She Went would open the water gates, so I kept avoiding it.

Review:

I can just tell you from the get-go that this may just turn into a fangirl session. I am ab-so-lute-ly head over heels with Where She Went. 

The rawness of this book just hit the spot deep within me. I am a sucker for heart-breaking tales, and this is one I will not easily forget nor do I want to. WSW is absolutely breathtaking because it was everything I wanted it to be and more. I mourned with Adam, and I felt his pain. I understood his lyrics and the need get it out the only way you know how. For him it was writing music, and for me… poems.

One of the reasons I love the If I Stay duology so much is because I can personally connect to both Mia and Adam. I didn’t go through the same tragedies as they did, but I’ve gone through some of my own, and to have on the page before me the same thoughts and feelings I’ve had before is an indescribable experience. It’s like that quote we see around tumblr so much, “We read to know we are not alone.” I read to know that I am not the only one feeling those same things, thinking those same thoughts.

Some readers that loved If I Stay did not like Where She Went because they say Adam is selfish and a jerk. I am not blind to his characteristics and attitude, but are we really going to say we are not all at one time or another a jerk and/or selfish? If we say we have never been a jerk or selfish we would be lying. Even the people who we think are selfless and the nicest people in the world at least have selfish or mean thoughts sometimes. The difference is that they don’t act out their thoughts or give them voice. Nonetheless, I understand their stance and respect it. I don’t need everyone to agree with me. If they did, well life wouldn’t be fun now would it?

Overall, this book will be going in my “Favorite Books of All Time” shelf. It was an indescribable experience that I want to experience all over again.

Rating: 5/5

 

Special Review, ya contemporary, YA Mystery

ARC Review: And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Veronica Porras (TTB)

And We Stay2Thank you Random House for providing me with a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description (on NetGalley):

Award winner and critically acclaimed writer Jenny Hubbard’s riveting account of a teenage girl whose boyfriend brings a gun to school and shoots himself. This is her story before, during, and after the tragedy.

When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.

This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

Review:

I started reading this book at the beginning of this year and it has taking me this long to read it. 6 months to be exact. Why you may ask it has taken me that many months? Because I had to be in a certain mood to read it. It’s not a lighthearted book at all. It’s heart wrenching, and tragic. If you’re not in the correct mood, it might bore you or turn you off.

The writing in And We Stay is poetic. I could even say lyrical. What I really enjoyed were the poems after every chapter. I could picture Emily late at night writing the poems, letting out all  of her feelings into that journal and beginning the process of healing that she desperately needs. The entire book is about the beginning of her healing process and realizing exactly what Paul was to her, as well as learning the consequences of her actions and what saying the truth may lead to.

If I were Emily, it would have taking me longer to heal from this, but the again at the end of the book she is barely starting to heal.

I really loved Emily’s roommate toward the end. At the beginning I thought of her as a snotty, rich, drama-loving girl. When Emily tells her to invent her past, her roommate doesn’t hesitate to make up a sob story that everyone eats up.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It may not be for me, but I wholly appreciate the poetic writing that enraptured me two nights ago as I binge read the last 80% of the book I still had left to read.

Rating: 3/5

Reviews, YA Mystery

Book Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Veronica Porras (TTB)

WeWereLiarsJacketFinal

Goodreads Summary:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

My Initial Thoughts:

I bought the book after I heard E. Lockhart read an excerpt about two months (maybe one month) ago at the LA Times Book Festival and it intrigued me. Also, Kayla raved about it, and said she loved it so with Kayla’s and Ms. Lockhart’s push, I bought it.

Review:

Oh My Gosh, this book was… amazing! E. Lockhart’s writing is poetic. Every lines flows into the next and it’s just perfection. I really love her writing style. AUTO-BUY AUTHOR!

It is true what everyone says, that you need to go into the book without knowing anything. I only knew what Ms. Lockhart read at the panel and really that was enough. You need to go into this book not knowing anything. (PLEASE DONT SPOIL YOURSELF)

Cady Sinclair is the perfect character to tell this story. I don’t think the story would be the same if any other liar was telling the story. Johnny, Gat, and Mirren will forever be imprinted in my heart.

I wish I could say more about this book but I really don’t want to spoil it for you. I really don’t.

I will tell you this, carve some time in your day and if you can, read it all at once. That is what I did and it was perfect. Also, if you know someone who read it and you can fangirl with, it would be perfect. I texted Kayla at a certain point in the story and she was there to fangirl with me.

If you don’t have anyone to fangirl with, spam me with comments, I don’t mind. I WILL FANGIRL WITH YOU!

Rating: 5/5

Reviews, ya contemporary, YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal

Mini Book Reviews #1

Veronica Porras (TTB)

I’m starting a new series on here which I’m calling Mini-Reviews. Clever name right? Yeah, I know. I’m a genius. (The sarcasm is so strong.) The reason I’m starting this new series is because there are some books that I’ve read that I have things to say about them, but not enough to dedicate an entire post on them. Each Mini Review post will have 3 mini reviews. Here we go!

Mini Book Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

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Kayla over at The Thousand Lives almost threw the book at me and said READ IT! I, like the good best friend that I am (see what I did there) did, and let me tell you I’m glad she said I had to read this book. I fell in love with summer again. The last time I was in love with summer was the year 2012. I truly cannot believe this is Emery Lord’s debut novel. The writing is impeccable and wonderful. I loved the main characters voice and the sass, oh my, I freaking loved the sass. Also, Matthew is the perfect boyfriend. Can he be real, please? If you are looking for a heart-clenching [in a good way] summer contemporary, then this is the book for you. 100% recommend this book to anyone.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Coldest Girl in ColdTown by Holly Black

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Vampires + Holly Black = perfection. What amazes me about this book is that it is a stand alone. I had never read a book that can build a new world, has all of the background information, action, plot twists, and just everything that we crave that is normally given to us in trilogies and series, in ONE book. Yes, you read that correctly. Holly Black does it all with one book. The ending satisfied me. This book does vampires justice and makes me sigh happily. These vampires can beat the crap out of any sparkly vampire’s butt.

Rating: 5/5

Mini Book Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

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I saw polandbananasbooks book talk of Altered a long time ago and have been wanting to read it since. I went over to Kayla’s one day and saw that she had it in her possession. I of course begged her to let me take it home with me and she did. This book was not what I was expecting, and boy it was wonderful. I screamed, I jumped, and it stressed the heck out of me. The twists, the action, the science fiction nerdy-ness of it, I loved it all!

Rating: 4/5

Special Review, ya contemporary

ARC Review: Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Veronica Porras (TTB)

 

 

1379536238000-don-t-Even-think-about-itI was given an ebook copy through NetGalley by Random House via invitation for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary:

We weren’t always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn’t expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we’ve kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what’s coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We’re always listening.

Review:

This may be the shortest review I have ever written. We’ll see.

I have never DNF’ed a book. NEVER. Anyone can go through my reviews and see that I have read through all of them, even those that I disliked. My goal is to give my readers, authors, and publishers a fair review of a book. A honest review.

Originally, I was excited when I received an invitation to read this book. I’ve heard great things about Sarah and I was thrilled to finally read something by her. The plot of the story sounded very interesting which is why I said, YES, SIGN ME UP.

I tried reading it on three different occasions. I only reached about 10-15% of the story before I quit. Each time I started to read it, I couldn’t get a feel for the characters and the protagonist. There was just something that wasn’t clicking and even annoyed me. I feel absolutely horrible saying such negative things about this book, but I honestly couldn’t get past everything that annoyed me.

I try my best to read the entire book so that I can give both the good and the bad of a book. One of my goals is to always find something good about the book, even if the rating is a 1 or 2. I make it my mission to give reasons as to why I dislike a book if I do.

Today is a weird day on The Talking Bookworm because I can do neither. Here is my first DNF review and hopefully it will be my last.

Rating: DNF (Did Not Finish)